


Real

by VanessaWolfie



Series: Where Stiles hides, Derek finds him [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, M/M, Season/Series 03B
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-28
Updated: 2014-01-28
Packaged: 2018-01-10 08:42:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1157540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VanessaWolfie/pseuds/VanessaWolfie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Derek doesn‘t really know what he‘s looking for until he hears the muffled whimpers.</i>
</p><p> </p><p>Where Stiles is hiding, tortured from the endless dreams and delusions, Derek finds him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Real

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [This is not real, you're not real](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/34962) by schiefergrau. 



> This was written after a quick look at a sketch by schiefergrau.

Derek doesn‘t really know what he‘s looking for until he hears the muffled whimpers. He breaks into a jog, not entirely sure why his hearts starts beating faster. Then he realizes—that‘s Stiles’ muffled whimpers. That‘s Stiles’ erratic heartbeat. He runs faster.

He finds him sitting, his head buried in between his knees. He’s wearing an oversized hoodie and it seems to swallow him whole. He's sitting alone right inside the forest line, not far from his house. Derek doesn‘t understand. He doesn‘t smell hurt, there‘s no blood, and yet Stiles sounds panicked, smells petrified. Derek slowly advances, not wanting to scare Stiles even more. When Stiles hears him treading on the forest floor, he looks up and Derek almost falls back. Because damn, if Stiles’ scent is bad, Derek doesn‘t have words for the look in his eyes. It‘s desperate, frightened, tortured.

When his eyes finally focus on Derek, they light up with hope. Derek lets out the breath he was holding. Stiles’ not going to freak over him being here. It’s okay. 

That relief doesn‘t last long. As Derek watches, the hope vanishes from Stiles’ eyes and he starts shaking even more than before.

“You’re not real. You’re not real. This is not real.” It sounds like a mantra. One that’s been used too many times. He sits down next to Stiles, trying to control his own emotions. He remembers the last time he saw Stiles upset. That was when Jennifer had his dad and Derek had wanted to do anything to take away that distress from Stiles’ features. This is so much worse and Derek can’t even begin to imagine what caused this.

“Stiles, I’m real. I’m here. Can you tell me what’s wrong?” Derek asks, his voice soothing for once.

“You’re NOT,” Stiles screams, pushing himself away from Derek. “You can’t be.”

His voice is broken, like he’s tired of fighting with his mind, like he’s tired of fighting.

“Stiles, I’m here, please just calm down. Your heart is pounding. You need to breathe for me. Just breathe. Nothing else.” Derek knows Stiles has panic attacks. He’s not quite sure what he’d do if Stiles had one right now. Derek starts stroking Stiles’ back, doing everything he remembered his mom doing when he got out of control. She’d never used her alpha voice to get him to stop crying. Even if it would take hours, she just sat with him, speaking in a slow, low voice, waiting for his mind to catch up on the fact that he was safe, well and cared for. He hopes it’ll work on Stiles.

Stiles starts breathing easier for him. After a few minutes, he sinks back into Derek like he wants to mold himself to him.

“You’re real?” Stiles asks in a small voice after what Derek estimates is about twenty minutes. Stiles sounds like he would break if he’s hoping for something that isn’t. If Derek isn’t there.

“I’m real.”

Derek doesn’t care what it takes. He’s never ever going to let Stiles look like that again. Stiles deserves safety, he deserves to feel good; happy, and most of all he deserves to feel cared for.

“Can you stay with me?” Stiles asks, almost too quietly. Derek hears it though. He hears it and tightens his arms around Stiles.

“Yes.”


End file.
